Summarize a PDF with ChatGPT and Send It to Slack Using PDF.co and Zapier

Step 1: Create the Dropbox Trigger

Create a new Zap and select Dropbox as the trigger app.

Choose New File in Folder, then:

1. Connect your Dropbox account.
2. Select the folder containing incoming PDF files.
3. Include the file contents when that option is available.
4. Test the trigger and select a sample PDF.

Step 2: Extract the PDF Text

Add an action and select PDF.co.

Choose PDF to Anything Converter, connect your PDF.co account, and configure:

• Output Format: Plain Text
• Source File URL: Map the PDF file or direct Dropbox link.
• Page Selection: Enter 0- to process every page.
• OCR Language: Select the document language if the PDF is scanned.
• File Name: Enter a name such as extracted-text.txt.

Test the action. PDF.co will return a temporary URL for the extracted text file.

The available PDF.co Zapier integration actions and fields are listed in the documentation.

Step 3: Summarize the Extracted Text

Add another action and select ChatGPT (OpenAI).

Choose the recommended Conversation action, then configure:

• Model: Select an available text model.
• Files: Map the text-file URL returned by PDF.co.
• User Message:

Summarize the attached document. Provide a short overview followed by the most important points as bullet points. Include any decisions, deadlines, risks, or required actions mentioned in the document.

• Instructions:

Write a concise, factual summary suitable for sharing with a team in Slack. Do not add information that is not present in the source document.

A Memory Key is unnecessary when every PDF is summarized independently. If documents belong to an ongoing customer or project conversation, map a stable customer or project identifier into this field.

Test the action and review the generated summary. Zapier lists Conversation as the recommended ChatGPT action for prompts that can include files and instructions on its ChatGPT integration page.

Step 4: Send the Summary to Slack

Add a final action and select Slack.

Choose Send Channel Message, then configure:

• Channel: Select the destination channel.
• Message Text: Map the ChatGPT response.

You can add context around the summary:

New PDF summary

File: [Dropbox filename]

[ChatGPT response]

Optionally include the original Dropbox file link so recipients can open the source document.

Test the Slack action and confirm that the summary appears in the selected channel. The current Slack actions are listed on the Slack integration page.

Step 5: Publish the Zap

Review and test the complete workflow, then publish it.

Whenever a new PDF is added to the selected Dropbox folder, PDF.co will extract its text, ChatGPT will create a summary, and Zapier will post that summary to Slack.